The Sea is a Good Place to Think About the Future
by ElZacharie
Summary: Director Davenport visits Hecuba at her home on the beach. Merle/Davenport; role reversal AU


p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"On the fifth day of each month, the Director of the Bureau of Balance made his way to a dwarven city by the ocean. He always made sure to stay far away, his ever faithful servant Lucretia silently tailing him, writing down every little detail- she almost refused to leave her side, and her journals were useful if he needed to cover something up. They were an odd couple for certain, with their fine outfits and strange bracers, but most walked away with the assumption they were simply rich tourists./p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"Hecuba Roughridge-Highchurch was the last member of the Starblaster that Davenport knew the location of any longer- Julia's home in Raven's Roost had been destroyed and Lup's caravan had disappeared after an incident that left an entire town dead. With this string of luck, Davenport had taken to checking on Hecuba personally, make sure she didn't suddenly disappear on him like the others had./p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"She had a simple schedule that was easy to track- spend time with her family in the morning, work in her clinic in town, go shopping, then return home, and watch the waves at night. It seemed a little lonely, but Davenport knew it was perfect for her and her solitary lifestyle. So, when the captain found her clinic empty and her husband sitting in her usual spot on the beach that night, he knew something was wrong./p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;""E- excuse me, sir!" Davenport called out, struggling to run through the sand. Lucretia followed at a distance, not sure if she should just pick the gnome up and carry him across the beach. "Excuse me!"/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"The dwarf- Merle, he thought his name was- looked up, twirling something in his fingers, a little put off. "Yeah? The hell are you?"/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"The captain stopped before him, panting a little. He'd run all the way there, which was a feat for someone as small as him. "I'm- I'm looking for Hecuba Highchurch. Have you seen her?"/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;""She went out to get some herbs. She'll be back soon," Merle grunted, his tone giving off the sense that even he was barely clinging on to the hope of her return. "Who are you? I'll leave a message."/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;""I'm… I'm just an old friend," Davenport sighed. He sat down next to Merle, wiping the sweat from her brow. "She doesn't remember me, anyhow."/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;""Well, that's a little harsh, don't you think? Handsome fella like you would be hard to forget."/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"From a distance, Lucretia guffawed. The captain gaped at the dwarf. "I- are you… sure you should be so forward? Your wife-"/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;""Was hardly a wife in the first place," Merle snarled, holding up the thing he'd been playing with- an inscribed ring. "She thought I was cheating on her. Me! Thought I was 'spending too much time with my plants', she said. Pah! It's just work, I told her, but she thinks all followers of Pan are into that kinda thing…"/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"The dwarf went on, tears in his eyes as he realized the stress of the situation. Davenport gently placed a hand on his shoulder, unsure of how to comfort the stranger. He was the one who had brought Hecuba to the Highchurch clan, so he felt some of the blame for what had befallen the marriage. Merle cut himself off with a sob, his hand reaching up to squeeze Davenport's./p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;""Thank you, stranger. I'm sorry, I'm a lil' drunk right now… I shouldn't have laid this on you."/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;""No, no, it's perfectly fine. Would you like me to help you back home?"/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;""That would be wonderful, thank you."/p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"Hecuba never did return to her home by the ocean, but Davenport visited as often as he could, Lucretia watching and writing in the distance (Merle never did ask about her; she had just become another fact of life to him). He and Merle became close, closer than either of them had expected. They met by the beach, sitting in the same spot as always, sharing beers as Merle shared what was happening in his life. His children had gone to live with his grandparents, but he visited as often as he could, between managing Hecuba's clinic and his own work./p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"Sometimes, Merle would place a hand on Davenport's at the end of the night, squeeze gently, before heading back home without another word. Those were the nights that made Davenport lay in bed, wide awake, his hand burning with the touch of the other man./p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"It was six months later when Davenport finally extended an invitation to the Bureau of Balance to the cleric./p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p  
p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"Merle accepted with a small kiss to the lips./p 


End file.
